[AndroidVageta]

So I got a new Asus Xonar DG sound card due to
the built in headphone amp and quality sound
processor.

Coming from onboard ALC890 through analog to
my Denon AVR-1610...and cheaper receivers are
considered to have cheap headphone quality. So a
new sound card...what a upgrade! So I thought...

Using Sony PFR-V1 headphones and JBL Studio
S38II (stereo only) by the way.

Anyways, get the card, hook it up, install the drivers
and wooow...no difference what so ever.

Actually...its worse. Much worse. Bass drops off
hard core, sound is hollow and very...I don't
know...lacking...just over all very unimpressed and
extremely disappointed.

This is both using headphones and my speakers.

Now before I get a bashing, I know its only a $30
sound card and I know its not a Essence ST...but
damn, was expecting something better than
onboard at least! I know that, minus the "amp",
even a Audigy 2 sounds above and beyond this
P.O.S.!

I just don't understand how onboard and a cheap
headphone out on my receiver sounds MUCH
better than a dedicated sound card with
headphone amp...or maybe my receiver isn't that
bad and onboard is not as terrible as its made out
to be?

Oh and one last thing...its not the cheaper amp on
the card either...using in-ears with no amplification
the sound is the same hollow crappy sound.

Anyways...just a heads up to other potential buyers!
This card is certainly going back to where I bought it.

/rant - mini-review - opinion

 

[PurpleAngel]

Did you set the card's Ohm setting to match the headphones?
Download the "united Xonar drivers", they are improved drivers written by a 3rd party.

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

Did you set the card's Ohm setting to match the headphones?

Doesn't matter. That setting is just a gain setting, it only determines how loud it can get.
 
AndroidVageta, your headphones have an impedance of 16 ohms. The Xonar DG probably (maybe) has a 10 ohm output impedance like its older brothers the Essence cards. What this means is you're getting very little electrical damping. What that means is the drivers don't always stop moving when they're supposed. That can lead to loose sounding bass, resonance in higher frequencies (makes stuff sound "harsh" or hard) and in extreme cases (like yours) bass roll-off. If the DG does have a 10 ohm output impedance, it's a very, very bad match for your headphones and arguably worse than onboard sound.

 

[AndroidVageta]

Oh really? And yeah I've got the amp maxed (64ohm< I believe)...I'll try the unified drivers, however, if its a hardware issue I doubt the drivers will do much, but I'll give it a shot!

Thanks guys...still odd though, considering I've tried IEM's with the same sound issues...both amp'ed and not.

So considering IEM's do the same I'm starting to believe its just a crappy card. All reviews I've read are positive, but they're from people using really bad cans...so I don't think they really know what they're talking about.

Anyways...thanks for the tips!

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

Oh really? And yeah I've got the amp maxed (64ohm< I believe)...I'll try the unified drivers, however, if its a hardware issue I doubt the drivers will do much, but I'll give it a shot!
Thanks guys...still odd though, considering I've tried IEM's with the same sound issues...both amp'ed and not.
So considering IEM's do the same I'm starting to believe its just a crappy card. All reviews I've read are positive, but they're from people using really bad cans...so I don't think they really know what they're talking about.
Anyways...thanks for the tips!

IEMs are often low impedance, which is not good with high output impedance. Regular headphones are 32 ohms and higher normally. The higher the impedance the less the output impedance is a problem.
 
And electrical damping itself is only part of the problem. I don't know what your headphones' impedance curve looks like, but if there are large variations you're going to get a lot of coloration.

 

[MrKazador]

I'm getting a Xonar DG tomorrow to replace my very old chaintech av710.

 

[Merck]

Wouldn't an external dac and amp be better than a sound card?

 

[jackwess]

Quote:

Wouldn't an external dac and amp be better than a sound card?

 
2 different things, depends on how you use it. 
A soundcard if you're a gamer. A dac/amp for music.  
 

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

Wouldn't an external dac and amp be better than a sound card?

This is a widespread misnomer. Many sound cards outperform external equipment for the price. It depends on how it's designed, and how well it's shielded from EMI. There is nothing inherently better about an external solution, except it doesn't need to be shielded and it can be made larger.
 
Audiophiles are averse to sound cards because they they don't look fancy or impressive, and because they tend to shun computer technology in its many forms (just look at how many still use CD players!)

 

[AndroidVageta]

Would a Xonar Essence STX be better for my uses? It does have an actual AMP built in...or should I go with something different?

 

[tmars78]

Quote:

Would a Xonar Essence STX be better for my uses? It does have an actual AMP built in...or should I go with something different?

I never heard the DG, but I have the STX, and I absolutely love it. I never really compared it to my onboard sound, so I don't know how much of an improvement it made, but since I need the amp for some of my headphones, I think it was well worth the $200 I spent on it. 

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

Would a Xonar Essence STX be better for my uses? It does have an actual AMP built in...or should I go with something different?

No. High output impedance.
 
Get something with low output impedance, preferably around 1 ohm.
 
Fiio E7 and E10 are two quality products and fairly cheap.

 

[audionewbieyao]

 
Why are you cross posting this to everywhere?  I see you posted in Hard forum and now here again?
 
 
Audio is not graphics, it's subtle, try use your heart..... or change to a better pair of speakers or headphone
 
​

 

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

Audio is not graphics, it's subtle, try use your heart..... or change to a better pair of speakers or headphone
​

Your heart doesn't have ear drums.

 

[mikeaj]

Quote:

 
AndroidVageta, your headphones have an impedance of 16 ohms. The Xonar DG probably (maybe) has a 10 ohm output impedance like its older brothers the Essence cards.

Why would you suspect this?  The Essence cards use the relatively expensive (well like $2.39 in 2000 reel quantities on Mouser) TPA6120, which specifies that a 10 ohms resistor be put between the output and the load, to protect against stray capacitance.  Hence the Essence, FiiO E9, and others using the TPA6120 dutifully use such an output resistor and thus have an output impedance a bit above 10 ohms.
 
I don't think the DG uses the TPA6120.  It might have higher output impedance for other reasons though.  But if the bass is rolled off with low-impedance IEMs connected directly to the card, that could very well be because of a DC blocking capacitor on the output that's sized too small.  (Line out -> line in RMAA results for the DG show no bass rolloff, so it's got to be some interaction with the low impedance load)
 
 
But none of that explains the speakers sounding worse or the bass being rolled off with the DG output into an amp into any headphones or the DG into speakers.